I'm a Family Crook -- Don't Shoot ****
Original air date: 12/19/72
This episode is priceless, and should be in any fan's top ten. The script by Jerome Coopersmith, direction by Bob Sweeney and the score by Morton Stevens are all outstanding, as are the photography and the acting by the family of scammers: Andy Griffith as Arnold Lovejoy, Joyce Van Patten as his wife Rhoda and Kimberly Louis as their precocious daughter Melissa. There are some great sequences: McGarrett arrives at the home of gangster Charlie Walters (Bob Basso) and pushes Walters' goon Willie (Nick Nickolas) out of the way as he enters; Walters' thugs blast the shit out of a door with their guns, and then Willie breaks it down anyway; Walters shoots Frank Bitrell (Bryan da Silva), one of his bagmen and when Willie asks, "Suppose he was telling us the truth?" Walters says, "I made a terrible mistake"; and the scene at the beginning where a guy gets brass knuckles in the face. Harold Sakata (of Goldfinger fame), Seth Sakai as Shibata and Moe Keale (the last uncredited) are three low-level gangsters who want to muscle in on Walters' action. The ending of this film where Ben flashes his badge to the Lovejoy family is hilarious. Some license numbers seen during the show: 3E-3193 (a taxi); 9C-3322 (Shibata's car); and 2E-2557 (Walters' limo). When Lovejoy imitates a cop, he has badge number 795. Kwan Hi Lim appears as the boat captain Quan. A real street corner is shown -- Waialae Ave. (3640 block) and Kokohead Avenue (1200 block). It takes 5 minutes and 16 seconds after the beginning of the first act before the main titles finally appear. At one point Melissa says she wants to go to a "GP" movie ... According to an explanation by Motion Picture Association of America boss Jack Valenti: "
- n November 1, 1968, we announced the birth of the new voluntary film rating system of the motion picture industry.... The initial design called for four rating categories: G for General Audiences, all ages admitted; M for mature audiences -- parental guidance suggested, but all ages admitted; R for Restricted, children under 16 would not be admitted without an accompanying parent or adult guardian; (later raised to under 17 years of age, (and varies in some jurisdictions)); X for no one under 17 admitted ... We found early on that the M category (M meaning "Mature") was regarded by most parents as a sterner rating than the R category. To remedy this misconception, we changed the name from M to GP (meaning General audiences, Parental guidance suggested). A year later we revised the name to its current label, 'PG: Parental Guidance Suggested.'"
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Arnold und Rhoda Lovejoy verdienen sich ihre Brtchen mit ganz besonders raffinierten Trickbetrgereien. Damit ist es allerdings vorbei, als sich Rhoda versehentlich den Gangsterboss Frank Butrell als Opfer aussucht. Aber die beiden Gauner haben Glck im Unglck: Frank Butrell wird schon seit geraumer Zeit von McGarrett und seinem Team beschattet. Nur diesem Umstand ist es zu verdanken, dass Arnold und Rhoda mehr oder weniger unbeschadet diesen Coup berstehen.
